Worlds of Dew 2020-09-14 11:53:38.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   This world of dew is a world of dew, and yet, and yet. -Kobayashi Issa  I remember first reading Issa’s famous haiku 5 years ago and being struck by its profundity (I should mention that this is just one possible translation from the original Japanese). Many great haiku seem to have a sort of universal nature and magnitude to them, and trying to explain them almost seems to do a disservice to the art, but as I continue my work as a weather observer, this one keeps coming to

You Live On The Summit?! 2020-09-07 15:16:31.000 - Nicole Tallman, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   After a busy weekend on the summit, I have realized there are many people that are unfamiliar with how the Obs staff operates on the summit. I had many questions asking about how long we are up here and many shocked faces when they learned that we live on the summit for a week at a time!  Figure 1: Living room in our living quarters Summit staff is split into 2 shifts with 3 observers per shift. We have shift change every Wednesday and swap out

Oboz on The Go 2020-09-03 08:26:18.000 - Rebecca Scholand, Summit Operations Manager   I think it is safe to say that many people have experienced a change in their 2020 habits and plans. I feel like my day to day schedule can vary so wildly that even my best laid out plans change quickly and unexpectedly. As spring came into focus the beginning of April, I was excited to pack away my Oboz insulated Bridger boots for something lighter and more breathable. I had every intention to spend quite a bit of time exploring the local trails around me as

Radar, the Military, and Wan Shi Tong's Library 2020-08-31 09:15:38.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Last Friday at Cathedral Ledge, my buddy Jon and I sat atop the first pitch of the diagonal on the Mordor Wall, mulling over the weather and assessing our options. We had decided to take a closer look at the weather after noticing the sharp, cool breeze and the building clouds overhead. Thanks to Jon’s radar app on his phone, we were able to confirm our suspicions that rain was on the way, so it turned out to be a nice validation of

A Glimpse of Cooler Weather 2020-08-24 16:07:36.000 - Nicole Tallman, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Earlier in this shift, the overnight lows were dipping into the mid-30s. Morning observations were a bit more brisk than what I have been used to since being back on the Rockpile. While Mount Washington never truly gets “hot” the warmer summer conditions have been spoiling me! Recently, when going outside for our hourly observations we can simply walk outside in whatever light jacket we were wearing already. However, the cooler morning observations had me wearing gloves, ear warmers and an extra jacket! It was a

Some Notes on Baking at Altitude 2020-08-17 09:11:30.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   A couple weeks ago, during the first installment of the Observatory’s Science in the Mountains series, I mentioned that I had a sourdough starter that I take with me up and down the mountain each week for home baking action on and off the summit. After the program, someone asked how my sourdough starter behaved at altitude, and this question inspired me to share a few thoughts on baking at altitude.  I first started baking bread while working for the Appalachian Mountain Club’s high mountain

A Brief Geologic History of The Whites 2020-08-10 16:23:35.000 - Nicole Tallman, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   After hearing word of a North Carolina earthquake that occurred this past Sunday I was reminded of my second passion, Geology. I started diving into the “shakemap” from the USGS website and was able to see where the earthquake was felt and read some reports of first hand experiences from this 5.1 magnitude earthquake. I found myself asking the questions of “Does North Carolina have a geological reason for having earthquakes?”, “How was North Carolina geologically formed?”. These questions inevitably lead to “How was

AuGUST Lives Up to It's Name: New Monthly Wind Record! 2020-08-05 17:21:24.000 - Sam Robinson, Weather Observer/Engineer   What an evening we had yesterday! For my first real storm/wind event of my MWOBS career I’d say I got an exciting one! As Tropical Storm Isaias (ees-ah-EE-ahs) raced up the eastern seaboard these past few days it brought heavy rain and serious winds to much of the region including a record breaking wind gust to the summit. During the afternoon hours leading up to the closest passage of the storm, the other observers and I patiently waited and monitored the progress

A Little Bit of White Mountain Tornado History 2020-08-03 19:33:11.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   This past week, I spent some time researching tornadoes in preparation for a distance learning program on tornado development. Aside from learning some fun facts for the presentation, I got rather curious about tornado history in New Hampshire...  While Mt Washington isn’t exactly known for its tornadic activity (to my knowledge there has never been an observed tornado on Mt Washington), but New Hampshire does average around a tornado a year, and tornadoes have been observed in every state in the US.  After

The Overcoat: A Meteorological Perspective 2020-07-27 12:41:43.000 - Nate Iannuccillo, Weather Observer/Education Specialist   Despite having a particularly busy week on the summit, in my downtime, I finally got around to reading one of the all-time classic Russian short stories by Nikolai Gogol, The Overcoat (Spoilers! You’ve been warned!). It’s a tale of a man (Akaky Akakievich) who finds himself in need of a new coat, a necessity given the harsh winters of Northern Russia, and he undergoes considerable personal sacrifice in order to afford a suitably warm jacket. Once he finally acquires sufficient funds to pay the tailor, he